Work out what a lead is worth to you, then budget for enough leads to win the jobs you want. In our example plumbing business, a lead is worth about $68, a lead costs about $45, and 20 jobs a month takes about $3,015 a month in ads. To start, about $32–$64 a day for the first fortnight is enough to learn which ads bring work.
Every plumber is different. The figures in this guide show the method; swap in your own job value, margin and close rate to get your budget. Example amounts are shown in your currency.
Step 1: what a lead is worth to you
Three numbers decide it: what a job is worth, the share of that you keep after costs, and how many of your leads become paying work. Multiply them and you get the most you can pay for a lead and still break even.
| Example plumbing business | |
|---|---|
| Average job value | $450 |
| Margin you keep after costs | 50% |
| Leads that become paying jobs | 30% |
| A lead is worth | $68 |
Pay less than that per lead and your ads make money; pay more and they lose it, however busy the phone is. There’s more on this in what a lead is worth.
Step 2: what leads cost
In the US, the median Facebook cost per lead for home and home improvement businesses is about US$41, against about US$28 across all industries1. Leads are getting dearer too: the average cost per lead rose about 21% in a year2.
Your own cost depends on your area, your offer and your ads. This example uses $45 a lead. Once your ads have run for a few weeks, use your real figure from Ads Manager.
Step 3: budget for the jobs you want
Start from the work you want, not from a number that feels safe. Divide the jobs you want each month by your close rate to get the leads you need, then multiply by what a lead costs.
| Each month | |
|---|---|
| Paying jobs wanted | 20 |
| Leads needed (20 ÷ 30%) | 67 |
| Cost per lead (example) | $45 |
| Monthly ad budget | $3,015 |
| Kept from those jobs before ads | $4,500 |
| Left after the ads are paid for | $1,485 |
If the last line comes out small or negative with your own numbers, more ad spend won’t fix it. Lift the value of each job, your close rate or your margin first, or aim the ads at the jobs worth more.
Step 4: how much to start with
A brand-new campaign needs enough results to tell a good ad from a bad one. Meta has long described about 50 results in 7 days as the point an ad set leaves its learning phase, though some accounts have been shown lower bars3. Most small businesses can’t afford 50 leads a week, so aim for 10–20 leads across the first two weeks instead.
At $45 a lead, that’s about $32–$64 a day. Run two or three ads, judge them on the jobs they bring, then move budget to the winners a step at a time.
The jobs worth advertising
Plumbing jobs vary a lot in value, and that matters more than the price of a lead. In Australia a hot water system install typically runs A$1,200 or more, against A$80–250 for a standard call-out4. An ad that brings one hot water job a week can be worth far more than one that brings ten cheap call-outs.
- Hot water systems: replacements and upgrades, the highest-value jobs most plumbers advertise.
- Blocked drains and emergency call-outs: lots of leads, lower value, and people ring rather than fill in forms.
- Bathroom and kitchen renovations: big jobs, long quotes, and lots of “just getting prices” enquiries.
- Gas fitting, leak detection and backflow testing: steady work with fewer plumbers chasing it in most areas.
Ad ideas for plumbers
- A short video of a real hot water install, with the price range up front so tyre-kickers scroll past.
- Emergency call-out ads that say how fast you get there and your area, run only in the hours you take calls.
- Before-and-after photos of a drain camera job or a burst pipe repair, which show the problem people are searching about.
When to spend more, and less
Hot water failures spike in winter, when a cold shower forces the decision. Blocked drains rise with heavy rain. Shift budget towards the job people are most likely to need that month, and away from it when your diary is full.
Mistakes that waste budget
Judging ads on cost per lead alone
A $20 lead that never books is dearer than a $60 lead that becomes a hot water install. Track which ads turn into paid jobs, not just which ones make the phone ring.
Running emergency ads overnight with nobody answering
If calls go to voicemail at 2am, those leads ring the next plumber. Either answer, or schedule emergency ads for the hours you do.
Changing everything every day
Big edits to budgets, audiences or ads send an ad set back into learning, and results wobble while it relearns. Make fewer, bigger changes and give them a few days.
Spreading a small budget over too many ads
Ten ads on $45 a day means none of them gets enough leads to judge. Fewer ads, each with a fair share of the budget, tell you more, faster.
Agency or do it yourself?
Agencies commonly charge $500–5,000 a month, or 10–20% of ad spend, on top of the ads themselves56. On a $3,015 budget, that fee can be a big share of what you spend reaching customers. A good agency can earn it; if you mainly need someone watching the numbers and telling you what to change, you may not need one. See the signs your agency isn’t worth it.
Questions
What is a good cost per lead for a plumber on Facebook?
Any cost below what a lead is worth to you. As a reference point, the US median for home and home improvement businesses is about US$41 a lead1, but your own number depends on your job value, margin and how many leads you book.
Should plumbers run lead form ads or send people to a website?
Both work. Lead forms usually bring more, cheaper leads that are less ready to book; a website or a call button brings fewer leads that are more likely to book. Test both, and judge them on booked jobs.
Is $10 a day enough for Facebook ads?
It can be for one tightly targeted ad in a small area, but at typical lead prices it buys only a few leads a week, which is too few to tell a good ad from a bad one quickly. The section on starting budgets shows how to work out a better figure.
See what your own ads are worth
Tony checks every live ad each morning and tells you which to turn off, which to scale and why, using your numbers. The first audit is free and takes four minutes.
Sources. Dollar figures from studies are shown in your currency, converted at Reserve Bank of Australia rates for 9 October 2026 and rounded; each source has the original. Example amounts are the same number in your currency.
- WordStream (LocaliQ), Facebook Ads Benchmarks 2025: medians of 726 US lead campaigns, April 2024 – June 2025. www.wordstream.com/blog/facebook-ads-benchmarks-2025
- Search Engine Land, “Facebook ad costs jump 21% in 2025, but still beat Google”, September 2025 (WordStream LocaliQ data). searchengineland.com/facebook-ad-costs-jump-beat-google-461690
- Jon Loomer, “Is the learning phase changing?”, May 2024: Meta’s documentation reflects about 50 optimised events in 7 days to exit learning; some accounts were shown 10 in 3 days. www.jonloomer.com/qvt/is-the-learning-phase-changing/
- Yellow Pages Australia, Australian plumbing cost guide, 2026. www.yellowpages.com.au/articles/plumbers-gasfitters/australian-plumbing-cost-guide
- Margin Media, “How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook in Australia?”, October 2024: management usually A$500–5,000 a month, or 10–20% of ad spend. marginmedia.com.au/our-blog/facebook-ad-costs-australia
- Linear Design, Facebook ads management pricing guide, 2026: US$500–5,000+ a month or 10–25% of spend; many require 3–6 month minimums, some 6–12. lineardesign.com/blog/facebook-ads-management-pricing-guide/